America's recovery has so far benefited Main Street a lot less than it has helped Wall Street. There's more evidence of that in the combination of Friday's subpar February jobs report and Thursday's new record high for the S&P 500 Index, five years after its nadir.
The employment picture means the United States still has 666,000 fewer citizens working in non-farm jobs than in January 2008, when the total peaked at 138.4 million. Last month's gain of 175,000 was better than expected against a backdrop of severe winter weather, and the spring may see further improvements in construction and other areas. But the unemployment rate of 6.7 per cent leaves plenty of Americans still looking for work.
Meanwhile, stocks have left their post-crisis slump far behind. The closing price of the S&P Index on March 6 was approaching three times the low recorded five years ago Sunday, and almost 20 per cent above the benchmark's previous all-time high in October 2007.
It's true that the economy has been slowly recovering, and share prices can be expected to reflect that. GDP per head of population has also rebounded and is now more than 2 per cent higher than it was when employment last peaked six years ago. Nevertheless, these modest improvements are dwarfed by the optimism shown by stock investors.
While many Americans benefit from a rising stock market, often through pension plans and retirement accounts, fewer than half of US families owned stocks directly or indirectly in 2010, according to the Federal Reserve. The boost given to the value of other types of assets by the ultra-low interest rates in place since 2008 is confined to an even smaller group.
A recovery in home prices is one broader positive effect, but in general the mix of structural factors and policy choices in the past half-decade has, in terms of two classic economic factors, favoured those with capital over people with only labor to offer.
Job seekers, anyone without investment holdings and risk-averse savers who prefer cash deposits have all lost out relative to wealthier cohorts able to stomach the risks of stock market investing. As the recovery progresses, Main Street deserves to get its chance.
The employment picture means the United States still has 666,000 fewer citizens working in non-farm jobs than in January 2008, when the total peaked at 138.4 million. Last month's gain of 175,000 was better than expected against a backdrop of severe winter weather, and the spring may see further improvements in construction and other areas. But the unemployment rate of 6.7 per cent leaves plenty of Americans still looking for work.
Meanwhile, stocks have left their post-crisis slump far behind. The closing price of the S&P Index on March 6 was approaching three times the low recorded five years ago Sunday, and almost 20 per cent above the benchmark's previous all-time high in October 2007.
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While many Americans benefit from a rising stock market, often through pension plans and retirement accounts, fewer than half of US families owned stocks directly or indirectly in 2010, according to the Federal Reserve. The boost given to the value of other types of assets by the ultra-low interest rates in place since 2008 is confined to an even smaller group.
A recovery in home prices is one broader positive effect, but in general the mix of structural factors and policy choices in the past half-decade has, in terms of two classic economic factors, favoured those with capital over people with only labor to offer.
Job seekers, anyone without investment holdings and risk-averse savers who prefer cash deposits have all lost out relative to wealthier cohorts able to stomach the risks of stock market investing. As the recovery progresses, Main Street deserves to get its chance.